United Spanish War Veterans. Russell A. Alger Camp No. 24 (Boulder, Colo.)

The Russell A. Alger Camp was established in Boulder in 1926 for the purpose of commemorating the participation of American soldiers and sailors in the Spanish-American War, and as a fraternal and community service organization. Its first organizational meeting was held on 2 April 1926 in the Boulder County Courthouse. In May 1926, a women's auxiliary was formed to promote the organization's social activities.

Many of the eighty members of Camp Alger served in the First Colorado Infantry, Company H, which left Boulder on 28 April 1898 for service in the Spanish-American War. Some Camp members served in other army units, mainly volunteer companies from Kansas, Nebraska, or elsewhere in the Midwest. In 1955, the membership dwindled to less than ten, and meetings were held infrequently. The last regular meeting, attended by four members, was on 4 December 1957.

During its fifty years of service to Boulder, the Camp sought in various ways to serve as a patriotic, fraternal, and social organization. Its members worked with veterans from the Grand Army of the Republic and the American Legion in organizing Fourth of July celebrations and in honoring their fallen comrades on Memorial Day. Alger Camp members sponsored several large veterans' banquets in 1927 and again in 1934 on the anniversaries of the outbreak of the Spanish-American War.

From the description of United Spanish War Veterans, Russell A. Alger Camp No. 24, records 1926-1977 (bulk 1926-1961). (Boulder Public Library). WorldCat record id: 427259234